Above photo: A high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) is on display at a park during a military exercise in Taichung, Taiwan, in July. Reuters.
The massive arms package is worth more than all arms deals for Taiwan approved under the Biden administration.
The State Department on Wednesday approved a series of arms deals for Taiwan worth more than $11 billion, including multiple types of missile systems and munitions, an announcement that China has strongly condemned.
If the sales aren’t blocked by Congress, which is unlikely to happen since there’s virtually no opposition to arming Taiwan in Washington, they would exceed the $8.4 billion in arms sold to Taiwan during the Biden administration, according to The New York Times.
According to the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the arms deals include a total of eight sales, which include:
- High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $4.05 billion
- M107A7 Self-Propelled Howitzers and related equipment for an estimated cost of $4.03 billion
- Tactical Mission Network Software, equipment, and services, and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.01 billion
- Anduril-made ALTIUS-700M and ALTIUS-600 drones with loitering munitions and other related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.1 billion
- Javelin anti-tank missile system and related equipment for an estimated cost of $375 million
- Tube-launched, optically tracked, Wire-guided missile system and related equipment for an estimated cost of $353 million
- AH-1W Helicopter Spare and Repair Parts and related equipment for an estimated cost of $96 million
- Harpoon Missile Repair Follow-on Support and related equipment for an estimated cost of $91.4 million
In response to the announcement, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said the move “grossly violates the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, infringes on China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and sends a gravely wrong signal to ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns it.”
Guo said that the weapons sales “will only push the Taiwan Strait into the danger of military conflict at a faster pace.” He added that the “Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests, and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations,” a warning that Chinese officials have delivered to their American counterparts for years.
